Chapter 20: Still Heading to the Hall of Justice

"Wait!"
Just as everyone was about to respond, a voice suddenly rang out.
Su Yizhao turned his head and saw that it was Wan Gaofei, the master of the sect. His heart stirred, and hope ignited within him.
"What do you have to say?" Although Wan Gaofei was the sect leader, the cultivator spoke to him without a hint of politeness.
"Our wager...!"
"Hurry and settle it!"
"Yes, yes!" Wan Gaofei leapt onto the stage, his face radiant with pride. "Haha, surely none of you have forgotten our bet?"
The nine sect masters below saw his triumphant expression and their faces darkened with anger, but none dared to speak out. Instead, they calculated the amount of profound stones owed and tossed their storage bags to him.
Wan Gaofei accepted them unceremoniously, gathering all nine.
He then handed five of the bags to Su Yizhao.
"Sect master, what is this?" Su Yizhao feigned ignorance.
"Take it! You brought honor to Lishacheng today; it is a rare feat in a hundred years. This is your due!"
Su Yizhao made no further protest and received them with both hands.
Wan Gaofei divided the remaining four bags into two portions, tossing two to Wu Haiyang and two to Shi Feichen.
The two accepted them without objection.
"Go now, cultivate well. I will take care of your families! In the future..."
"Enough, let’s go!"
The cultivator, impatience in his voice, was the first to rise and fly toward Linhai Prefecture. Others followed swiftly.
Su Yizhao and his companions nodded and mounted their swords to pursue them.
Within moments, only sixteen sect masters remained, gazing ahead with mixed expressions.
Some were filled with longing, others with melancholy...
Linhai Prefecture’s city governed an area of four or five hundred thousand miles, its profound energy rich, producing countless talents.
Only now did Su Yizhao truly feel the concentration of profound energy.
The closer they drew, the more comfortable he felt, as though surrounded by a cocoon of profound stones.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, their spiritual senses finally pierced the city’s interior.
People bustled about, shops crowded together—a scene of prosperity and abundance.
At the city’s center stood a towering mountain, atop which the Profound Qi Sect was located.
Inside a grand hall, four or five hundred cultivators stood.
"Have the contestants arrived yet?"
"Reporting, they should be here soon!"
Among the four or five hundred, Li Xuyue, Mu Qingqing, and Huang Rong’er were present, with Li Xuyue gazing skyward, waiting anxiously.

"Xuyue, do you think Su Yizhao won't make it? Master increased the difficulty, and I’ve heard that the cultivators in this competition are monstrously strong!"
"He will be here!" Li Xuyue, dressed in blue, replied with certainty.
Huang Rong’er voiced her concern, "I thought he’d be fine before, but looking at the people around us..."
The surrounding cultivators were either local prodigies of Linhai Prefecture or talents who had bypassed trials to enter the main sect directly.
They were simply too formidable!
Standing among them, the girls could not help but feel immense pressure.
"Little sister, even if you manage to enter, don’t compare yourselves to us, alright? We have no interest, and they’ll only embarrass themselves!" a white-robed cultivator nearby interjected.
Li Xuyue snorted coldly, "Do we even know you?"
"Haha, I’m from the Liu family—Liu Qinwen. Now you know me," the white-robed cultivator said, self-assured and proud.
"Liu Qinwen? Liu Qinwu? Damn!" Li Xuyue cursed inwardly, realizing the Liu family’s influence.
Just as she was about to lead her friends away, someone suddenly shouted, "They’re here!"
Four or five hundred heads turned upward, spotting seventeen cultivators flying toward them.
"Is this it? Four or five are at the early stage of the Four Profound Realm, but the others are all at the Three Profound Realm?"
"Even the peak of the Three Profound Realm is fine, but there’s actually one at the mid stage?"
As their cultivation levels became clear, discussions broke out, faces filled with skeptical expressions.
"Yizhao, over here!" Li Xuyue called out, unable to contain herself.
Su Yizhao and his companions descended slowly. He stood beside Li Xuyue, examining her closely. "We’re not late, are we?"
Li Xuyue hadn’t expected such a question and burst into laughter, revealing two adorable little fangs. "Why are you so strange?"
Su Yizhao followed her gaze downward, shaking his head.
Six storage bags hung at his waist, making him look odd.
Most eyes were now fixed on him.
"This? It’s what the sect masters won in the wager during the competition!"
He hadn’t had time to count the profound stones along the way, and with so many people present, it wasn’t appropriate to check now.
Li Xuyue wanted to laugh again, but a commanding voice cut through the hall: "The triennial disciple recruitment is complete. A total of five hundred and eighty-one disciples. Linhai Prefecture recruited five hundred and fifty-one. Sixteen sects sent fourteen for direct entry, and sixteen via competition."
All fell silent, listening attentively.
"Of the fourteen direct-entry disciples, five have been taken as elders’ disciples and enter the inner sect immediately. Of the sixteen who entered by competition, six won thirty consecutive matches and will also enter the inner sect directly. The rest are assigned to the outer sect and may join the inner sect next year after passing the examination."
"This...?"
"How can this be? These competition entrants get to go straight to the inner sect?"
"That’s so unfair, I should have just signed up in any city for the competition!"
"To wait a whole year for the inner sect—the difference in treatment is huge!"
Murmurs rose again throughout the hall.
"Silence!" the authoritative voice thundered. "What disorder is this? Is there room for your doubts here? Outer disciples will be assigned according to the list. Inner disciples may choose freely!"

The crowd had just quieted when voices rose again.
"Look, the difference between inner and outer disciples is like night and day!"
At the front, a white-bearded cultivator began calling out names without concern.
"Huang Deguan, Outer Sect, Profound Arms Hall!"
"Wu Siyu, Outer Sect, Discipline Hall!"
...
"Brother Su, where will you go?" Shi Feichen asked softly.
Su Yizhao had already thought it through and replied with a bitter smile, "Where else but the Discipline Hall?"
"That’s right, you were born for the Discipline Hall! Haha, give it your all and win the sect’s gold badge—when the Golden Badge of Justice appears, all evil retreats!"
Shi Feichen’s eyes held sincerity, gratitude, and another deeper meaning.
Unfortunately, Su Yizhao didn’t understand.
He thought to himself: Winning the gold badge in the Discipline Hall is just the beginning; what matters now is whether he can evade the elder and those three families.
"Shi Feichen, Outer Sect, Profound Arms Hall!"
Shi Feichen’s name was called, and he hurried off.
Su Yizhao didn’t know if his senior brother liked Profound Arms Hall, but he could only help him so much.
An hour later, the hall stood empty.
Su Yizhao stood atop a small hill, facing a solemn palace.
Li Xuyue and the others had gone to Profound Pill Hall; among those eligible for the inner sect, only he chose the Discipline Hall.
"Who goes there?"
"New disciple, Su Yizhao!"
"How did you gain direct entry to the inner Discipline Hall?"
"By competition—thirty consecutive wins!"
Su Yizhao gazed quietly at the imposing gates, neither releasing his spiritual sense nor searching for the source of the voice with his eyes.
"Why choose the Discipline Hall?"
"Because I was born of the Discipline Hall!"
"Good! Enter!"
Su Yizhao stepped through the gates, greeted by an atmosphere that felt like home.
"Perhaps, I truly belong in the Discipline Hall," he sighed softly to himself.